Kruger had seen many men at the last stage of their existence as life slowly receded from their body. Tiger had reached that stage. He knew he had reached the point of no return. Getting him to the nearest hospital was too late now. More importantly, with their inability to tell where whoever shot him was hiding, trying to get to him would be suicidal.
“Tiger, it is okay! God will forgive you all your sins! We will find the one who killed you. Good-bye!” Kruger said. Then raising his rifle, he aimed at Tiger and pulled the trigger. About nine bullets riddled the body of Tiger. Less than five seconds later, he was dead.
“Kruger, you shot him!” Sphinx said, shocked.
“Yes. Get hold of yourself, man! There was no way he was going to survive. He was going to die anyway. Shooting to kill him instantly spared him extra pain before death. I did him a favour,” Kruger told Sphinx.
Sphinx knew Kruger was telling the truth. Indeed, even if they had gotten to Tiger and managed to leave the house with him, with the amount of blood he had lost, there was no way he was going to make it.
From the kitchen hideout, Lt. Badoo had been waiting for the others to turn up so he could deal with them too. He had heard Kruger when he screamed across at Tiger asking him where he was. He had also heard Kruger ask Tiger where whoever shot him was hiding. He had further heard Kruger’s last words to Tiger. The last thing he was expecting was that Kruger would shoot Tiger and kill him instantly.
As a soldier, he recognized that whoever shot Tiger had done him a favour; spared him pain for some minutes before he died. However, as far as he was concerned, only a heartless person was capable of doing that to his friend or comrade. The heartlessness exhibited by Kruger was an indication to him the kind of man or men he was is not someone to joke around with.
Kruger was thinking of how to flash out whoever had shot Tiger and deal with the person when they heard a sound that made them freeze; sirens!
“The police, someone may have called them! Let’s go!” he said. They turned and took the direction that would see them run past the living room and bring them to the main gate. Their car was just behind the main gate. Within seconds, the two went past the living room, determined to get out, be in their car and drove off before the police arrived.
Lt. Badoo too had heard the sound of the sirens and guessing it was the police, ran to take up position in the living-room, sure that the rest of the gun men would make a run for it when they hear the siren. So he was in the living-room with his gun aimed at the gate when Kruger and Sphinx got there. Kruger was in front while Sphinx was behind. From where he was standing, the soldier aimed at Sphinx’s back through the mosquito net and then pulled the trigger. Kruger was about to go through the opened gate when two bullets caught Sphinx in the head behind him. Sphinx had no time to make a sound. He simply fell headlong onto the ground, his head riddled with bullets, startling Kruger. Kruger turned, took just one look at his colleague then dashed through the gates. He then dashed to the car they had brought, got in and drove away. About ten seconds after he left, the police arrived. One of the neighbours had called them. The neighbour directed them to the house where the shooting was coming from. They arrived at the gate to find the body of Sphinx with his head totally crushed. The police officers, eight in number, whisked out their pistols and taking positions, entered the house. Their leader, standing by one of the three cars they came in, brought out a megaphone and began to give an ultimatum to all those in the house to come out with their hands in the air.